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The horse was named, naturally, for the city of Seattle. “Slew” comes from the sloughs (slow-moving channels) loggers used to move heavy logs. His owners thought the spelling, slough, would be difficult to remember, so they changed it to Slew.
Looking down a list of the names of Derby winners is quite interesting. Themes quickly appear: many horses are given combative names featuring speed or strength, like Assault, Cannonade, Exterminator, and Jet Pilot. Other names recognize the inherent gamble involved in horse racing: Bold Venture, Spectacular Bid, and Genuine Risk.
Then, there are those names that stick out for being different and slightly perplexing: horses called Needles, Ponder, Macbeth II, Iron Liege, and Behave Yourself.
Leanne Olson
(Photo of Slew with Paul Mallory as a foal at White Horse farms on August 5th, 1974, from SeattleSlew.com)
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